The Amazon Appstore has arrived in the Land of the Rising Son as Japan becomes the next market to receive the Android app portal. The online retailer today announced that Japanese customers are now able to access localized content for their Android devices and Kindle Fire products. As is the case with other countries, they will also get the Amazon Free App of the Day.
Amazon Appstore details for Japan include:

Localized content and a localized mobile store

Popular Amazon Appstore features like the “Free App of the Day”

The ability to buy an app or game once and enjoy it across Android devices including Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets, which are available for pre-order now at Amazon.co.jp.

Android continues to chip away at Apple’s dominance in the tablet market and now holds more than 44 percent of the market. Apple still holds strong at 55 percent of the overall field however it has given up 14 percent of the pie to Samsung, Google, Amazon, and others. According to ABI research, Apple is losing its grip as a result of not delivering a “knock-out punch through innovation, pricing, and availability during the most critical selling period of the year.”ABI

Awww, how cute… your dual-core and quad-core handsets are so darling. Check out my new 8-core smartphone. If the recent chatter is correct, this is exactly what some will be saying in the shorter term as ZTE is said to be working on such a behemoth.

HTC has hired a new marketing chief to help the company kick off a new phase of brand marketing in the coming year. Taking his seat in January, Benjamin Ho will replace outgoing John Wang as the company’s head of marketing decisions. Internally, HTC is referring to this new effort as ‘Marketing 2.0′ as it hopes to to gain back some of the market share and profits that has been lost to Samsung and other players. The sky isn’t falling yet for HTC but the sooner they change or refresh their image in the U.S. and world, the better.

Verizon and Samsung have officially confirmed that the Galaxy Note II will be available at the carrier’s retail locations on November 29. What’s more, those that pre-ordered the device will find that they will be receiving the smartphone on the same day. Shipments started today and customers are receiving email alerts when their respective device heads out the door.

Just in time for the holidays, the Samsung Galaxy Note II will be available for purchase online and in stores starting tomorrow Nov. 29. Customers who pre-ordered the Galaxy Note II will receive an e-mail alert when their device has been shipped. Customers have the option of two color models, Marble White or Titanium Grey and can pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note II for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.

The SuperTooth DISCO 2 is a portable speaker that connects to all of your Bluetooth devices. Like its predecessor, it also offers a 3.5mm audio jack for direct connection to MP3 players, laptops, and other products. Regardless of how you opt to connect to the Disco 2, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the experience – we sure do.Continue reading: Supertooth Disco 2 review

After Samsung debuted some awesome new features on the Galaxy Note II, many original Note owners were left wondering if their devices would get a taste of those features. After already updating the Note once this year, it looks like they’re prepping another jelly bean flavored update pretty soon. That tasty update has been leaked by SamMobile and includes plenty of new features. » Read the rest

So you want to put a Smart TV in your living room but don’t feel like spending hundreds or thousands of dollars. What to do? Maybe you start with WISE TIVI and one of their three affordable Android-powered options.With prices that start at $59.99 we’re willing to enhance our current set with a little bit of Ice Cream Sandwich Jelly Bean.Continue reading: WISE TIVI offers three Android-powered Smart TV options